SBS Go Back To Where You Came From

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Red Cross is partnering with SBS for the third series of the award-winning documentary series, Go Back To Where You Came From.

Monday July 20, 2015

Get the facts at redcross.org.au/refugees

If you watch SBS, you would have heard that the third series of award- winning TV documentary reality series Go Back to Where You Came From is screening on 28-30 July.

It follows six ordinary Australians as they embark on a reverse refugee journey to some of the most dangerous places on earth, and come to terms with their own preconceptions about refugees and asylum seekers.

Australian Red Cross has an exciting partnership with the team behind the SBS program to help Australian high school students work out what's fact and what's fiction when it comes to asylum seekers and refugees.

The first episode of Go Back to Where You Came From goes to air on Tuesday 28 July.

To promote our partnership with SBS, we are hosting two public events in Sydney and Melbourne for Red Cross supporters, with a lively panel discussion followed by a live screening of Episode 1. We hope you can join us (RSVPs are essential).

At Red Cross we want to encourage a more compassionate Australia, where our shared humanity counts more than our differences, and the educational resources being developed capture that sentiment.

With so much public debate about people who seek asylum and refuge in Australia, we are encouraging people to base their opinions on facts.

A recent Red Cross survey found that:

70% of people think that it's a crime under Australian law to arrive here by boat without a valid visa and ask for protection.

60% think there's a queue that asylum seekers can join. We believe if some of these myths were dispelled we would have a more compassionate, understanding and stronger community.

The education pack we have produced in partnership with SBS will reach 3,500 Australian high schools and there's an online education portal which contains clips from the show, along with interactive information, education materials from Red Cross and teacher resources to guide lessons and classroom discussion.

Our newest Red Cross Ambassador Dr Munjed Al Muderis is speaking at the Sydney event. He is the pioneering surgeon giving amputees the ability to walk, who fled Iraq and came to Australia as a refugee, which makes him a powerful advocate for our humanitarian work.

While the show is on air from 28-30 July you can join the conversation on Twitter at @SBS and the hashtags #GobackSBS and #SBSlearn.

Through this partnership we are living our Fundamental Principles, because when humanity is at stake, we take action. It's part of our global mandate and responsibility to raise and address issues of humanitarian concern.

To find out more visit redcross.org.au/refugees, where you can sign up to receive our monthly email update on our vital everyday work supporting refugees and asylum seekers.